I don’t know about you but the amount of spam arriving in my e-mail is getting worse. Is anything being done about it? Read on…

Ken Pugh of Durham filed a lawsuit recently against the Senate campaign of Elizabeth Dole for eight unsolicited e-mails he received. The lawsuit was based on a relatively new North Carolina law that allows people to collect ten dollars for each unsolicited commercial item they receive by e-mail. Pugh’s price to settle is $80. A court date was set for November 18 unless a settlement is made.

In an August 26^th letter to Pugh, the Dole campaign said that its e-mail messages are not commercial and do not fall under the anti-spam law. They wrote:

"We are sorry that we will not be able to honor your request for payment regarding 'unsolicited e-mail messages,"' the letter stated. "The North Carolina law ... only applies to 'commercial' electronic communications... As the Dole campaign is not a commercial venture, we feel it would be inappropriate to send you a check at this time."

My guess is that Dole is correct and Pugh’s lawsuit probably doesn’t have any merit. Too bad because it's probably a test case and we do indeed need to have an effective anti-spam law.

Despite numerous attempts by Congress there are currently no U.S. Federal laws specifically regarding spam. Spammers have lost in Federal cases that cited other laws such as for trespass or forgery. Nevertheless, the fight for spam-specific laws continues.

Currently twenty-one States have passed anti-spam laws. On June 15, 1999, the North Carolina Senate ratified Senate Bill 288. This law made it unlawful to send unsolicited electronic bulk commercial mail in North Carolina. The act became effective December 1, 1999, and applies to violations occurring on or after that date. This new law provides a new cause of action for those who receive unsolicited commercial e-mails with false routing information, and should be heeded by those who use targeted mailing lists for bulk e-mails to potential customers.

What does North Carolina’s Anti-Spam law say?

It pertains to unsolicited bulk e-mail. "Unsolicited" means not addressed to a recipient with whom the initiator has an existing business or personal relationship and not sent at the request of, or with the express consent of, the recipient."

It pertains to commercial e-mail defined as messages sent and received electronically consisting of commercial advertising material, the principal purpose of which is to promote for-profit sale or lease of goods or services to the recipient.

Providing a false or forged return address or other routing information in a commercial bulk e-mail is prohibited. This is discussed in the bill under the subject of computer trespass.

Violation of the statute is a class 3 misdemeanor if the violation causes less than $2,500 in damages, and as a Class I felony if the damages are over that amount. Further, any person or e-mail service provider who is damaged by the trespass may sue for civil damages and recover $10.00 for each unsolicited e-mail or $25,000.00 per day that the damages persist, whichever amount is less. Attorney fees and costs of the suit are also recoverable. No cause of action is available against the e-mail service provider who merely transports the message.

Where do we go from here?

Is North Carolina’s anti-spam law a good one? I’m not so sure. It’s been in effect since 1999 and my spam continues to increase. Now all we see is a frivolous $80 suit against Elizabeth Dole for sending out campaign mail. I think someone will have to come up with a much better test case that hits spammers in the pocketbook before we’ll know if North Carolina’s anti-spam law is effective.